Koukash says he will be ‘horrified’ if plans for a new community stadium for Swinton Lions in the centre of the town are turned down by.

Koukash and his team will be ready in the next few days to provide council bosses with their plans.

He said: “This is very much a stadium with a bit of everything right in the middle of the community.

“It can be used all year round and not just for say 14 games in a season. The location is ideal and it includes space for restaurants, shops and a hotel. I will be horrified, disappointed and very surprised if it is not approved.”

Its encouraging to see this but I would have thought plans would have already been submitted by now.

Generally people do not get provided with say a 3 month "window" if the information can be provided in a much shorter timescale and therefore I would expect that any plans would use the full time available to consider. I would also suggest this adds weight to the fact that this is a serious proposal.

Fingers crossed.

I don't mind stealing bread from the mouths of decadence.

"Be mindful of the prayers you send,
Pray hard but pray with care,
For the tears that you are crying now,
Are just your answered prayers"

The 3 month exclusivity arrangement ends on 30 June, by which time we understand that MK will have submitted his proposals. That's not to say the council will give a verdict straight away. Chances are there could still be further discussion beyond that date re the finer detail before there is a final yes or no. My advice would be to not read too much into it if there is nothing concrete announced in July (or indeed August when council tends to be in recess).

And to re-iterate Marshy's point, the club has received no approach whatsoever regarding a take-over. Furthermore we don't expect any approach whatsoever unless the stadium deal comes through, and even then we have had no proposals or assurances one way or the other. I am simply putting facts on the table here in order to be transparent with our fans.

Regarding the Trust becoming defunct......I would actually say the role of the Trust becomes even more important in the case of the Club being run by a single entity.

The Trust stepped in at the end of last year to help our wonderful club survive (again!) and has in some respects got closer to the day-to-day running of the club than it should need to.

This is also a good thing in that the Trust have been able to influence many decisions being taken by the Club by us once again being recognised as shareholders and having elected two of our committee members on to the Club Board.

Going forward the Trust have to plan for working alongside a new ownership of the club (should that emerge) and/or be prepared for the next crisis!!!

Owners can come and go, but the Club (and the Trust) need to continue through thick and thin.